Georgia non-participating tobacco manufacturer bonds.
Quote on review.
Every tobacco manufacturer outside the Master Settlement Agreement must post a surety bond and prove it to the Georgia Attorney General to get or keep its brands on the directory. Under O.C.G.A. § 10-13A-7 it is the greater of $50,000 or the highest escrow you owed Georgia in any quarter of the last 12. We review your escrow history and quote it.
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How much does a Georgia non-participating tobacco manufacturer bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
From escrow history to bond on file with the Attorney General.
Without proof of this bond your brand families do not make the next quarter’s directory, and unlisted brands cannot be stamped or sold in Georgia. Here is the whole process, start to finish:
Send us your escrow history
Apply online with the bond amount the statute produces — the greater of the $50,000 minimum bond or your highest quarterly Georgia escrow in the last 12 quarters — the effective date, your Georgia license and TP permit numbers, your principal county, and a contact person.
A surety specialist quotes it
A specialist reviews the file and returns your premium. The bond issues the moment you pay — no credit review of any kind, not even a soft pull. No obligation until you accept the quote.
Upload it with your certification
Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued with the surety’s power of attorney, ready to prove on Form AG-07 and upload to the Attorney General’s tobacco portal with your quarterly or annual certification, along with the bond amount and expiration date the portal asks for.
What it is and who needs it.
What the non-participating manufacturer bond actually guarantees
The 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement left manufacturers two paths. A participating manufacturer joins the settlement and pays under it. A non-participating manufacturer — any tobacco product manufacturer that is not a participating manufacturer — instead deposits escrow on its Georgia cigarette and roll-your-own sales into a qualified escrow account under O.C.G.A. § 10-13-3. The Georgia Attorney General enforces both the settlement and those escrow laws, and keeps the directory of approved manufacturers and brand families; a brand that is not on it cannot lawfully be stamped or sold in the state.
Since HB 899 (2016 Act 472, effective July 1, 2016), O.C.G.A. § 10-13A-7 has required that “all nonparticipating manufacturers shall post a bond for the benefit of the state,” written by a corporate surety located within the United States. Evidence of the bond goes to the Attorney General with each quarterly and annual certification, as a condition of the manufacturer and its brand families being included or remaining in the directory for the following quarter or year. Under § 10-13A-3(d)(6) the certification itself must state that the manufacturer has posted the bond and give the information needed to establish it.
The bond answers for the escrow. The Attorney General’s Form AG-07 binds the manufacturer and surety to the State as obligee, conditioned on paying into the Qualified Escrow Account all escrow due under § 10-13-3, including penalties, interest and the State’s collection expenses. Quarterly escrow is due 30 days after the end of the quarter, and under § 10-13A-7(c), if the full amount is not deposited within 15 days after that due date, the State may execute on the bond: first to recover the delinquent escrow for deposit into the escrow account, then to recover civil penalties and costs. Anything owed above the bond stays due from the manufacturer and the importers that sold its cigarettes.
The amount moves with your sales. It is never less than $50,000, and it must cover the largest quarterly escrow you owed Georgia in the trailing 12 quarters, so a growing brand may need to raise its bond before the next certification. Form AG-07 makes the bond continuous, cancellable by any party on 60 days’ written notice. It is not insurance for you. If the surety pays the State, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Upload it with your certification. Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued with the surety’s power of attorney, ready to prove on Form AG-07 and upload to the Attorney General’s tobacco portal with your quarterly or annual certification, along with the bond amount and expiration date the portal asks for.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one specialist review.
These are the actual fields: the bond amount the statute produces, the effective date, your Georgia license and TP permit numbers, your principal county, a contact person, and your business details. A surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
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Keep your brands on the Georgia directory.
Send us your Georgia escrow history, and a surety specialist sizes the bond to O.C.G.A. § 10-13A-7 and quotes it — typically within one business day. Free until issued.